Salvation

[society]

Does praying constitute salvation?

[woofgang]

why would it?

[Old_Geezer]

Hallelujah ! Let's all pray for no more preaching here !

[chakka35]

Salvation from what? Earthquakes? Measles? Ingrowing toenails?

[society]

"Salvation from what? "

From everything in general.

[woofgang]

what a bizarre question.

[Canary42]

Of course not, don't be so silly.

[atalanta]

Please can I pray to be salvated from idiots ?

[woofgang]

well you can atalanta but so far god hasn't answered that prayer for me.....

[society]

People who believe in God, and pray would understand this question.

[woofgang]

well I believe in god and pray but have no idea what you are on about.

[society]

I'm not on about anything. People ask questions if they don't know.

Earlier this morning I was listening to a program and someone said this. I'm just asking a question and hoped someone knowledgeable would understand it and give an answer. Why are you being so snobby?

[boxtops]

no, only if whoever you are praying to grants your requests

[woofgang]

I just don't understand your question...you said that someone who prays and believes in god would understand, well as I said, I do both and I do not understand what you mean.

[Old_Geezer]

Then no, you answer is it doesn't.

[Peter Pedant]

Society I agree with you - none of the answers have told you diddly squat.
You may have heard this on thought for the Day. My view is necessarily Roman Catholic - Salvation comes from faith and good works, and one is not sufficient.

The reformed religions (Anglican and so on) argue incessantly about whether faith is enough - and faith and praying sort of go together. This argument has been around so long that it even goes by a Latin tag - sola fide (by faith alone) that is salvation by faith alone.

so having said that:
try : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvation

and then: for a light dessert course try:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arminian_controversy

Archbishop Laud in the 1640s (here) was suspected of being an Arminian heretic so it worth ploughing through it.

and good luck !

[modeller]

It didn't do me any good when I prayed to win the lottery and that would have been a salvation.

[naomi24]

Modeller, you're clearly talking to the wrong bloke. ;o)

[cupid04]

Naomi, perhaps if you believed you could get rid of that annoying flashing advert!

[naomi24]

I don't go for self-delusion.

[birdie1971]

Religion teaches that in private prayer, God knows you better than you know yourself. You can't lie to God. He knows your every true thought and your every true desire. He knows what you want and what you want for others. You quite literally cannot tell Him anything about yourself that He doesn't already know.

Public displays of prayer are a slightly different matter. They are a demonstration to your peers that you share a common belief. However, public prayer is also subject to the logical progression that God is omniscient and therefore knows the true beliefs of both the group and the individuals.

Given the above, isn't praying to God ultimately meaningless and simply an exercise in making the one making the prayer feel better about themselves?